


Birth of a Predicament

by FlorarenaKitasatina



Series: One Night's Reprecussions [2]
Category: Epic Battle Fantasy
Genre: Adventure, Developing Relationship, F/F, F/M, Grimdark, Implied Futa, Responsibility, from bad to worse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-27
Updated: 2017-04-10
Packaged: 2018-06-04 22:41:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,849
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6678268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlorarenaKitasatina/pseuds/FlorarenaKitasatina
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nine months pass, and unfortunately for a quartet of four people, that means the arrival of a new life in the form of an infant. Even worse, said infant unwittingly attracts strange monsters that seem human one minute, but decapitate and disembowel themselves the next. As if the stakes couldn't get any higher, these monsters have a particular craving for mortal flesh, especially that of a newborn and those who are defenseless.</p><p>This quartet, even though they're now stuck with the burden of caring for an infant, are anything but defenseless. Yet three things still bother the lot: just how did the flesh-eaters who are fond of babies come to be? Can this issue be rectified, or at least culled to ensure the child's safety? And who, exactly, sired the baby?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Wind whistled throughout the empty tree branches of a snow-laden forest in the still of night, barely caressing the cheeks of four people with weapons and bundles of sticks on their backs and pouches tied at their waists as they pushed onwards. All were dressed in thick fur coats, snow crunching under their feet as they walked in unison, though one was breathing heavily and struggling to keep up. A piece of rock stood out from the trees and snow, arching over to form a protective natural roof above a patch of ground big enough to house at least six people.

“There,” one of the people growled in a thick, masculine Scottish accent, pointing at the area beneath the arching rock. “We need to tent up quick—” he was cut off as the person who was breathing heavily let off a short-lived, pained cry that evolved into a squeak akin to rusty door hinges as it died down. He turned to the person, so fast his blond hair almost flew in the wind as his head whipped towards the source of the cry, a teenage girl with long green hair hanging loosely past her shoulders. She was doubled over in pain with both hands clutched onto her swollen stomach.

“I think we’ll have to tent up later!” the person nearest to the teen objected, a man whose red eyes were glinting in annoyance. “At most, we can start a fire before she delivers the kid!” He wrapped an arm around the girl and assisted her in walking towards the rock, taking slow careful steps towards his destination.

The man with the Scottish accent turned to the other person, a woman with long red hair and blue eyes. On her back was a bundle of sticks, tied securely to her torso and shoulders, in addition to a crystal-tipped staff of redwood. “Whose baby will it be, Matt?” she asked in a worried tone of voice, her accent also of a Scottish nature.

Matt shrugged. “We won’t know until it pops out. We’d best hurry,” he replied, a concerned frown marring his features. He and the woman exchanged no further words as they quickly caught up to the red-eyed man and heavily pregnant teen, who were already beneath the edge of the stone. With one quick movement, he picked up the girl in his arms, carrying her bridal style towards the other side of the impromptu shelter and carefully laid her back against the stone once he reached where the structure started from the ground.

“Set up a fire already, Natalie!” the red-eyed man cried, rushing over to the girl before kneeling down and wrestling with her shoes and pants frantically. Her pants weren’t wet, which he found odd, but as soon as he removed the damned piece of furred cloth he could see why.

The top of a little bald head was already just barely peeking out from between her legs, effectively plugging the vaginal opening up. “Oh shit, it’s already about to drop!” he cried, eyes widening in surprise.

“Damn, I think her giving birth’s gonna be the least of our worries!” Matt hissed, looking around, his gaze focused on the area outside of the rocky roof. Snow began to fall once more, and there were some figures approaching, just barely visible past the falling white. One shadow looked like it had horns and glowing eyes, as well as a distinct lack of legs, while another appeared to have many writhing tendrils about it. A third appeared to be floating thanks to some odd energy, sporting an oddly-shaped head as well as a long blade-like protrusion in place of an arm.

The teenager cried out once more, the shriek echoing into the world of whirling white beyond the arching presence of the stone. One of her hands shot out like a bullet, grabbing the red-eyed man by his wrist.

“Anna, just take a deep breath, and—” he was cut off by another pained outburst, followed by the girl giving him a glare that looked like it belonged to a wounded bear.

“It hurts, dammit!” she shrieked, her breathing hitched and a tad shallow.

The man blinked as the sound of crackling reached his ears, and he turned around just in time to see a small campfire starting to consume the wood that Natalie had put onto the ground. The blue-eyed woman then rose up from behind the flames and approached him and the agonized teen before kneeling in front of the girl’s open legs.

The top of the baby’s head was still the only visible thing she could see so far. “Either the baby’s stuck, or she ain’t pushing.” She frowned as the words left her mouth.

"I'm not sure who to blame for this!" Anna seethed through clenched teeth, eyes narrowed into slits. She gripped the red-eyed man's wrist tighter, biting her tongue to hold back another cry. Nearby, she could hear someone slashing at something frantically, but chose to ignore it to focus on her current predicament. She spread her legs a little wider, hoping that it would help, only to scream as it amplified the pain and pressure tenfold.

"I might have to stick my hand between the baby and the canal just to pry it out," Natalie hissed, her remark earning her a glare from the red-eyed man.

"Don't; that's one road leading to Disasterville," he said curtly. "Is she pushing?"

"I'm fucking trying to push, Lance! It's not budging!" Anna shrieked before grunting in response to the strain on her lower body. She tried and tried, yet it still felt stuck. A feeling of dread rose up in her as she felt something take just a few more inches out of her canal, though it otherwise remained inside.

"The head's out, Anna. Keep going, you're doing great," Natalie encouraged, moving one hand to cup the underside of the baby's head.

Anna grit her teeth and started to push again, her companion's words filling her with vigor. With a little more effort and some pain, she felt something exit from her regions and get lifted away, followed immediately after by liquid spilling all across the scene and drenching her legs. She was breathing heavily as she spotted Natalie retracting from her with a tiny, wet and still baby in her arms.

"It's not moving," the red-haired woman said solemnly.

Lance went wide-eyed. "You're saying the baby's stillborn?" he asked.

"Lemme check," Natalie replied, checking for vital signs whilst trying to keep it warm. One hand shifted about, checking for a pulse, and the other arm held it tight. A few tense minutes passed before a tiny hand shifted in her grasp and the infant started crying and kicking. "Alright, it's alive; hand me something to keep it warm," she sighed.

Lance nodded, and reached into his fur coat to produce a thick blanket before handing it off to Natalie. "I may get colder as a result, but fuck it, I'm willing to make the payoff," he murmured, sighing as the woman wrapped the infant up in the blanket. He then reached into the pouch at his waist and opened it. He produced a small knife and a roll of surgical thread and gave those to Natalie, before he turned his attention away from the women and baby and towards Matt as he strode back under the rock and around the trio into view, his hair haggard and his face sporting lingering traces of exhaustion. In one hand, he held a giant blue sword with pale etchings that rested with its tip on the ground, held up by the hilt and drenched in frost and fresh blood.

"Hopefully, the monsters will leave us alone tonight; I slayed the ones that showed up. How's everyone holding up?" he asked.

"Like shit; I'm cold, wet, aching, and starving," Anna growled, her stomach still quite swollen. The infant's umbilical cord had been severed by Natalie, who made sure a piece of string was firmly tied at the bud beforehand. And still the child screamed.

"Shh, it's okay," Natalie murmured, trying to comfort the infant as it struggled in her arms.

"Can we sleep now?" Anna groaned, leaning back and letting her head rest on the rock wall.

"How can we be sure that's not the only kid in your gut? You still look like you ate a watermelon, woman," Lance retorted, shaking his head. "Once we're sure the kid Natalie is holding is the only one, then you can rest."

Anna's eyes widened. "I... might have twins?!"

Matt knelt down, raising his free hand to clench the teen by her shoulder. "Looks like, unless there's more water than baby," he said softly. He flinched as Anna threw her head back, biting her tongue again and this time drawing blood as she briefly spasmed at the touch. The blond shared a look with Lance.

"Someone hold this baby," Natalie piped up, and when Matt looked at her, she handed him the still-struggling child. The woman turned her attention back to the teen and she drew a sigh as the rest of the umbilical cord slinked out into the open, looking like an oversized worm of flesh as it formed a heap between Anna's legs.

Anna groaned and relaxed as Lance reached over and lifted the cord to cast it aside. "Where's... the nearest town? I don't think we'll last... long out here," she murmured in a pained voice, a mixture of drool and blood trickling from the corner of her mouth as she spoke.

"Give it a few. Maybe it's the only one, and what's left in her gut could be the remaining water," Lance sighed, gesturing to the baby and then to Anna's stomach as he spoke.

"Anna has a point. We can't fight monsters, and care for the kid at the same time," Natalie interjected, garnering looks from the men and a wail from the infant. "Unless we get help, or to the nearest town, we're screwed."

The baby continued to fidget, and as Matt stood up to look past the rocky roof, he silently cursed as more darkened forms appeared amidst the trees, quickly encroaching on the group. He knelt down again and handed Anna the child. "Think you're well enough to calm the kid down?" he asked, his tone alarmed and riddled with desperation.

"Wait... those shadows look almost human," Natalie piped up, standing up and turning her attention to the approaching figures. One strode up to the flames, revealing a tattered brown cloak with fur trimmings adorning a masculine frame, with a broad-brimmed hat overshadowing a pale face. Her eyes narrowed at the new arrival, and she asked in a snappish tone, "Who are you, and what do you want?"

The new arrival snorted, reaching into his cloak before procuring a dagger. "The baby," he said in a low tone.

Lance bolted up into a standing position, raising a hand to lift the weapon on his back, revealing a black blade and revolver built into the hilt. "What for?" he hissed, eyes narrowing low as he readied the weapon—a gunblade—into a battle stance.

The new arrival did not answer the question; rather, he convulsed in place as his neck split at the junction where it met with the shoulders, lifting up and up and dragging the trachea and jugular with it. As it pulled and pulled, coiling around its body like a demented serpent, the heart and lungs squeezed out of the hole where the neck had once been, followed up by the stomach and intestines.

The eyes of the four widened as the semi-attached head turned to them, the mouth widening and the cheeks splitting apart at the very seams, forming a gruesome maw lined with dagger-esque teeth. It cackled maniacally, the body moving into a stance of its own. "Give me the newborn!" it howled in a distorted, echoing voice, lunging towards the group with the dagger raised high and the head bypassing Natalie to home in on Anna.

Anna reacted quickly, raising a hand and reaching towards her weapon. She pried it off, revealing an emerald bow that wove around itself, and swatted the oncoming thing away from her and the child. She watched as the body blundered into Matt, who thrust his blade into the torso and sliced it clean in half, pressing the child closer to her chest as it continued to wail.

The monster howled and slumped, looking little more than a corpse that had been strewn about at that point. It writhed for a second, different parts twitching at intervals, before it fell still. Lance waved the gunblade around, pointing it at the rest of the shadows who had yet to enter the temporary haven. "Anyone else want some?" he yelled, glowering as the rest of the silhouettes retreated and faded into the snow-laden distance.

"The fuck was that?" Natalie asked, gesturing to the corpse for emphasis.

"Don't know. But we're not staying here to find out. We're going at first light," Matt replied, his voice low and soft. He turned to Anna as the child's crying had finally started to hush.

"If Anna doesn't have any more babies to deliver, then we'll rest. But one of us is staying up to keep watch," Lance growled, turning to the corpse and kicking at one of its dislodged organs. "Whatever in hell this thing is, he seems to have flocked here with the other monsters because of the kid."

Natalie knelt down and stared at Anna. "You feel anything, besides like shit?" she asked.

The teen shook her head. "Not in my gut, no. But my legs and crotch are freezing," she answered. Her eyes fell onto the baby, who looked back at her like it was going to start squealing again. Anna blinked and her attention turned past her exposed legs as Matt procured a blanket from his coat and laid it out on a dry patch of rock that was near the flames. She stiffened as Lance picked her and the baby up after setting his gunblade down, walking over to the blanket and kneeling down to lay her onto it.

The men worked to undo the thing still attached to Anna's back, revealing an arrow-laden quiver that got set down next to her. The new mother relaxed some more as the warmth of the flames washed over her, laying down and letting her arms fall slack at her sides.

And then the child began fidgeting and crying again. Before the teen could act, Lance picked up the baby and held it close, sighing as it stopped crying and calmed down in his arms.

"That settles it. Lance is on watch tonight," Natalie piped up, walking to meet the three and procuring a blanket from her own coat. She flung it over Anna's legs, making sure to keep it away from the fire as it covered her still-bare limbs before going back to fetch the gunblade.

"But who gets baby duty?" Matt asked, gesturing to the child while shooting the redheaded woman a puzzled look as she came back with Lance's weapon in hand.

Natalie sat down on the rock. "Me," she said simply.

~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~

A full two weeks passed before the group could start moving again. The quartet slinked through the forest, as silent as could be—easier said than done, considering the baby was prone to crying fits every so often. Not a single one of those strange, human-like creatures came after them, though there were plenty of other monsters that the group had just as much potential to blunder into—oddly enough, nothing dared to challenge the group. They simply slogged through the woods without incident, unless the baby's screeching counted as an incident.

Eventually, though, the forest started thinning out; the trees were getting sparse and smaller. The group halted, and found themselves peering at a snow-covered town whose houses lacked windows. Anna looked up, spotting the setting sun, and then turned to the others. "You think this town has an inn? I hope it does," she murmured as the child began fidgeting in her arms again.

"Perhaps," Natalie replied, turning to the mother with a shrug. "But I don't think an inn would have cribs for the baby to sleep in."

"Let's get to the nearest house," Matt interjected, striding towards the nearest building at a quick pace. The other three turned to him and walked after him as he approached the door and knocked on it.

Nobody answered. Matt quirked a brow and knocked harder. Still no luck. The blond turned to the others, and everyone shrugged with the exception of the squirming baby. The swordsman sighed and reached for the knob, turning it and blinking as the door swung open, revealing a dark and musty room beyond. The quartet filed inside, briefly coughing as the dust within entered their lungs.

The baby began wailing again, sending the others into worry. Lance moved about the room, fumbling about for anything—a light switch, a power source, _something_ that could be used to illuminate the house. At last, he found that something: an oil lantern he turned on after shaking it to confirm it still had fuel to spare. Natalie shut the door, and went with the others to circle around the source of light.

Anna sighed and pried a hand from the child to fumble with her jacket for a bit. She stopped, though, when Lance shot her a look. "Hungry again?" the red-eyed man asked.

"Dunno," the teen answered, shaking her head. "I'm gonna find out, though."

The four stiffened when thudding footsteps echoed into the room, and they jerked to find another source of light creeping down a flight of stairs, accompanied by an old man with grey hair and eyes in his pajamas who descended the flight with a lit candelabra in one hand. "I forgot to lock the damn door again, and now thie—" he stopped upon seeing the group, eyes quickly zeroing in on the still-shrieking infant. "What the..."

"Mister, we came seeking shelter. I gave birth... two weeks ago, and we needed to find..." Anna trailed off, sighing as Natalie piped up.

"We didn't come here to rob you. It's just that we have a baby with us, and we're in dire need of supplies and a decent shelter," the redheaded woman murmured.

"We knocked, and thought nobody was home," Matt added, watching the old man as he nodded to himself.

"Alright, alright. If it's just you four and the baby, I suppose you lot can spend the night," the resident stated. The four sighed in relief, and Anna turned away from the old man and undid her jacket, exposing her breasts. She pulled the child to one of them, and gave a shudder as it stopped wailing and began suckling.

Matt stood up and turned to the resident as he finished going down the stairs and made for the door, ensuring it was shut before procuring a key from a pajama pocket and using it to lock the door. "Sir, may I ask you something?"

"Huh? What is it?" the old man asked, turning to the group and tilting his head quizzically.

"Why does this house have no windows?" Matt asked, frowning a bit.

The old man pursed his lips and sighed, "There are monsters about. Monsters that look like humans, but can pry their heads off and tug out their organs at will. This town has houses that lack windows; otherwise, the damned things would've gotten in and..."

Matt's frown deepened. "We... we ran into one of those—or, rather, he ran into us," he stated.

"When?" the old man gasped, eyes widening and blinking.

"When... when I delivered the baby," Anna answered, turning to the resident with a shudder. "That... thing wanted the child, and... and we don't know why."

"That's very bad. Did he try to go near the little one?" the old man murmured.

"His head flew around me and went to her, but she smacked it away," Natalie replied. "And then we cut through the body with a sword, and it just... it dropped, organs and all."

The resident in the pajamas grinned. He turned to Anna and stated, "That may have been the luckiest break for the wee one yet."

Matt's frown turned into a smile. "Oh, yeah," he conceded.

"Say, what's the little tyke's name?" the elderly man asked, and he noted the immediate wide-eyed stares the group exchanged amongst themselves. "The baby doesn't have one?"

"No, sir. We had bigger fish to fry and just forgot about naming the baby," Anna answered after a moment's hesitation. She gestured to Matt and Lance and added, "And I don't know which of these two the kid's been sired by."

The old man raised a brow and turned to the men of the group, but Lance simply stated, "Drunk threesome."

The resident nodded in understanding. "Alright, alright. Eh, it happens," he mumbled. "But if you three are attracting those... those Krasue folk, then you might need to stay put for a while."

"Why's that?" Natalie asked, only to flinch when Anna elbowed her in the side.

"They're attracted to the defenseless, and those who let their guard down," the resident replied, gazing pointedly at the feeding infant. "They're especially fond of infants and pregnant women."

Anna shuddered, pupils dilating as the man went on, "The Krasue are... demons that pretend to be humans. Demons who feast on mortal flesh and reveal themselves when an opportunity to feed arises."

"And if they prey on the defenseless, and that one who found us wanted the baby..." Natalie trailed off, irises shrinking as her mind painted several unpleasant scenes involving these 'Krasue' and babies. She turned to Anna, who returned the gaze with a similar expression on her face.

"That's bad..." Matt mumbled, turning to the mother of the group as the baby stopped feeding and let off a yawn. He turned back to the old man and asked, "You have a room that can fit all four of us? Five, counting the baby?"

"Yes. It's upstairs," the resident confirmed. "Heck, the kitchen's upstairs too. Might as well make yourselves some grub; you all look tired, and the mother needs to keep making milk for the wee one."


	2. Chapter 2

The four sat in a sparsely-decorated room upon the three beds and their weapons laying within reach of said beds. Matt and Lance were jostling for one and Natalie lay by her lonesome in another, leaving Anna in the third one to juggle the sleeping baby.

"Boys, stop for a minute," Natalie stated, garnering the attention of the men. She rose a finger to point at Anna, and the two followed the hand to the mother who started undoing the child's blanket. Natalie herself also turned to the teen with a brow raised.

Anna unwrapped the baby and her eyes widened as she found both a vagina and a set of testicles and a dick between the baby's legs. She wrapped the little one before it had a chance to wake up again, and slowly, the teen turned to the redheaded woman. "Natz, this baby's yours," she said in an uneven voice.

Natalie's eyes grew to the size of saucers. _"M-mine?"_ she squeaked, her jaw dropping open. "H-how—"

"Kid has both parts. It's intersex," Anna replied, causing the eyes of the men to widen as well.

"Tell me you looked when it was born," Lance snapped, turning his attention to Natalie with a hardening glare scrawled onto his face.

The woman turned back to meet his gaze. "It was struggling, it needed to be warm, and it attracted monsters," she snapped back. This remark caused Lance to flinch and fall silent, giving her no more than a nod of understanding. "Besides, my back faced the fire and I couldn't see too well; all I saw were the boy parts."

"But there's a chance it could still be mine or Matt's," Lance interjected, his eye twitching as he spoke. He turned to Anna and added, "You're just going off on pure speculation, when we currently don't have access to DNA scanners. Remind me to find a doctor one of these days just to give the kid a check-over."

"Who else among us has both parts?" Anna groaned, shooting Lance a look that betrayed the twitching corners of her mouth. "Who else decided to stick their gigglestick in me that night, nine months and two weeks ago?"

"While that's true," Lance started, "she could also be sterile. For all we know, a blank or two could've been fired."

"Then who knocked me up?" Anna snapped, glaring at the red-eyed man.

"Oh, boy, here we go," Natalie muttered, rolling her eyes and shaking her head as Matt decided to speak up.

"I'm already envisioning what the kid's gonna ask when it's older," Matt groaned, shoulders sagging and head dropping.

"Nevermind that, how the fuck are we gonna explain _this_ to the rest of Greenwood if and when I return to the village?" Anna asked, gesturing to the child with one hand and pointedly looking at Natalie with a hardening face of her own.

The redheaded woman flopped onto the bed and groaned into the pillow, making a noise that sounded like a muffled, "I have no fucking clue."

"Well, let's focus on the present. At least those... monsters stopped getting on our heels," Matt stated firmly, straightening his posture.

Natalie rose from the pillow and shot him a look. "You mean the Krasue?" she asked.

"Yeah, those things," Matt replied, nodding. He turned to Anna and sent her a small smile. "How's the rascal doing?"

"Asleep," Anna replied, and she blinked as she felt a shifting in her arms. She turned to the child and found it awake again, softly burbling as it looked at her with its little hands balled into fists. "Scratch that, kid's awake."

"Just because the Krasue have stopped attacking us doesn't mean we can let our guard down," Lance interjected in a tight voice, garnering the attention of the other three. "The man who lives here said they go after those who are vulnerable, and that will include us the very instant we get distracted for more than a few minutes."

"In that case, I'll take up both watch and baby duty," Anna sighed, her remark causing the three to jerk to her with wide eyes.

"But you'll wear yourself out, woman! If we're still asleep if and when you collapse, and the Krasue find a way in..." Lance trailed off, eyes flickering with worry and anger.

The baby began fidgeting again, sniffling and hiccuping for a moment before it began crying. Anna turned her attention to the child and shifted it so she could hold the kid against her shoulder and gently rock it. "Hey, hey, it's alright," she murmured into the baby's ear softly, hoping to soothe it. "The big scary monsters won't get you."

Just as she said that, a series of loud banging sounds echoed into the room from outside. The lot turned to the door, yet it did not budge. The noises continued to persist, which only seemed to have made the baby squeal louder, drowning out it's mother's whispers in the process.

Fast-paced foosteps, thudding loudly and irregularly, had the group reaching for their weapons and Anna jumping off the bed to rush as far away from the door as she could after snatching up her bow. The door opened, and the old resident ran inside and closed it behind him with a harried look on his face. "The Krasue are here!" he exclaimed, turning to the group with wide eyes.

The other three took hold of their weapons. "Alright mister, stand aside. We don't want to accidentally hurt you," Lance beckoned, turning to the corner directly opposite of Anna to gesture to it. The man nodded and rushed to huddle there, leaving the trio to form a wall in front of the teen with weapons held up in a defensive stance.

A tense silence blanketed the room, and for a moment the child stopped crying. Anna's breath caught in her throat as a low growl came in from the outside, punctuated by what sounded like an animal sniffing about as it thudded again and again. "Still fresh..." a voice snarled just outside the door, and the five stiffened as a fist slammed clean through the wood. "Yes... I can still smell the afterbirth..."

The baby began wailing once more as the fist that went through the door retracted, only to punch another hole through the wooden obstacle. Matt turned to Lance, eyes widening as another gaping wound appeared on the door thanks to the fist that kept punching through it. "Any bullets on you?" he asked.

"Yeah, but that'd make the kid cry worse. That, plus a few gunshots would only attract _more_ unwanted attention," Lance snapped back, keeping his gaze affixed on the door as one last punch sent it clean off its hinges, allowing what had destroyed it to step into the room and reveal itself to the lot.

It was another man whose head had been detached from his body with a distinct lack of cheeks that gave it the appearance of a torn mouth that stretched from ear to ear, with organs trailing about like a fleshy, wicked serpent that stayed close to the rest of himself. Behind this one, three more flanked it outside, all sniffing the air and slowly turning to the group of four.

"When will these guys let up?" Natalie snarled, shooting a glare as the intruders took a few more steps into the room, quickly cutting off the only avenue of escape. Her inquiry caused the Krasue to turn to her and sniff the air again.

The one who made several holes in the door donned what could be best described as a glower gone wrong thanks to his split grin. "Hey, boys, we might've missed one," he hissed, using a pale hand to gesture to Natalie. The rest turned to the redheaded woman and likewise glared at her.

One of the flanking Krasue hissed, eyes narrowing. "We missed a hermaphrodite?" he asked.

The apparent leader nodded. "But that means we can engorge this night!" he cried, lunging forward, mouth widening as far as it could go, eyes gleaming in some sort of intent. Matt acted quickly, stepping in front of the woman and slashing downwards, splitting the head and the body into clean halves with one strike. Lance jumped forward, stabbing another Krasue in the heart with his gunblade and causing him to keel over.

Natalie rose a hand up, and immediately, her arm found itself surrounded by sparking energy that crackled and turned into a fiery inferno. She shoved her way past the men with the blazing hand outstretched, grabbing one of the remaining Krasue by the hole where his neck once was and earning a terrible shriek as the fire darted from her arm and engulfed the demon. The screams of the fiend did not last long as the blaze ate away at his flesh both inside and out, rendering him little more than a skeleton that collapsed into a heap of ashes.

The last Krasue stepped back with an unearthly hiss, mouth wide open as the sound left its throat. This wound up being his undoing as Natalie shoved the crystal-tipped end of her staff right into the maw and quickly rose it up high before bringing it down to the floor like a golf club. After a few repeated bashings stemming from this particular motion, the Krasue's body fell over as the head cracked open like a rotten walnut, further splitting the jaws and sending bits of skull and brain splattering about here and there.

The redheaded woman breathed heavily as she lifted her staff, backing away and trailing more pieces of bloodied cranium with her. She turned to the men, who stared at her with wide-eyed expressions, then to the resident of the house as he processed the scene from the other side of the room. "Is... everyone alright?" he ventured, garnering nods from four heads and the silencing of a crying fit.

Natalie turned to Anna and sighed. "Something tells me the baby can sense danger... that shouldn't be possible; it's only two weeks old," she murmured, staring at the baby as it calmed down.

"Is she still bleeding?" the resident asked, garnering a look from his guests, whereupon he gestured to Anna for emphasis.

"Er, yeah..." Lance answered, turning back to the teen. "She has been for a while."

The resident's eyes widened still. "That's very bad. She'll keep attracting the Krasue until she stops bleeding," he murmured, shuddering at the mere thought of it. Then he turned to Natalie and asked, "The Krasue that came here said something about a hermaphrodite. Is it true?"

Natalie stiffened before releasing a defeated sigh and slowly nodding. "Yes, I... I have both," she murmured. She watched as the elder jerked and tensed up. "Lemme guess: bad?"

"Exceedingly, especially with the baby present," he replied. "You'd best watch yourself, woman."

Natalie nodded. "I do a fairly good job of that," she sighed. "Promise us you won't tell the rest of the town about it?"

"Cross my heart," the elder replied, forming a small smile on his face. The smile faded as the baby started shrieking again, and he sighed and turned to the men. "Can you boys help me repair the doors, please?"

Lance nodded, and so did Matt. The red-eyed man turned to Anna and murmured, "Can you calm the munchkin down while we fix the door?"

"I'll try, but it might take a bit," Anna mumbled, pressing her back against the wall as if another Krasue was just seconds from attacking her.

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Anna slumped into the corner, sitting with her knees in front of her arms, cradling the infant. Her eyelids constantly drooped, and her head bobbed ever so slightly as exhaustion washed over her. She could hardly hear the goings-on downstairs, instead choosing to tune out most of everything.

The baby looked at her once it stopped crying, eyes gleaming with wonder. Its hands jerked every once in a while, in tandem with some burbling that managed to garner a very weak grin from its mother.

The teen looked at the face the baby made. "Who could argue with that cute look?" she mused in a tired voice, maintaining her grin for another moment before it fell. She jerked her head to the door as footsteps echoed in from outside, sighing as Natalie entered the room.

"Anna, are you okay? You look like you survived a train wreck," Natalie murmured, quickly walking to the teen.

"Just tired as hell," Anna replied, shifting a bit before standing up. "Are the doors repaired?"

"Just the one on the lower floor. I had to set up some runes—very specific runes the guy who lives here had to teach me," Natalie answered with a nod. She gestured to the infant, "Listen, I'll hold the munchkin while you nap. Sound good?"

"Deal," Anna replied, handing Natalie the baby before shambling to the nearest bed and flopping on it. A soft snore came from the teen, which caused the woman to shake her head as the baby made a noise between a high-pitched squeal and a burble. She turned to Matt and Lance as they rushed into the room.

Lance's gaze fell on the teen. "Did she pass out?" he asked.

"Like I took your gunblade and clocked her on the head with its hilt," Natalie confirmed with a nod. She turned to the baby and frowned, staring into its eyes which she found to have been a shade of emerald. "You got your mother's eyes," she murmured, to which the infant burbled and tilted its head a bit.

"So, that just means we're gonna have to wait for the head rug to grow. Maybe then, we'll know who the munchkin belongs to," Matt piped up, garnering looks from Natalie and Lance.

"And that won't be for another few weeks at best," Lance sighed. "But, it might not even inherit our hair colors, let alone Anna's, for that matter. Genetics are a funny thing."

"So, the baby might grow black hair?" Natalie asked, a brow raising as the red-eyed man turned to her and nodded.

"Something like that. And if it does grow black hair, we're gonna have to hurry to find a doctor who can give a paternity test," Lance replied, crossing his arms as he began to eye the child.

The resident of the house entered the room. "What's all this hubbub now?" he asked.

Natalie sighed, "Trying to figure out who the baby belongs to. It has it's mother's eyes, and no visible hair on the head yet."

The baby squeaked as the elderly man stepped up to Natalie, looking at him with a curious gaze. The man patted it on the head and looked into the woman's eyes. "Miss, are you... sterile?" he asked.

Natalie's eyes went wide, and a blush spread on her face like a wildfire. "I-uh... um... I... don't know?" she stammered.

The elder turned to Matt and Lance, who merely shrugged and shook their heads. "We don't know either," they replied in tandem.

The baby made another squeal, and started burbling when Natalie turned back to it. "What?" the woman asked, a brow raising as the baby began fidgeting, looking at her with its bright green eyes. Natalie squinted her own pair and blinked.

Very faintly around the pupils, she found, was a ring of very faded blue that had been hardly noticeable amidst the viridian that made the rest of the irises. The child ceased fidgeting, but continued to burble as a soft smile spread on the face of the person holding it.

Natalie turned to Lance and Matt, her smile widening. "Munchkin's giving me the puppy eyes," she chirped.


	3. Chapter 3

The baby fell asleep in Natalie's arms, and the woman sighed and leaned against the wall as she eyed the other occupants of the room she stood in. Matt and Lance shared a bed, with the blond sleeping one way and the red-eyed man facing the other. Anna hogged the third bed, a pool of blood forming under and around her legs as she dozed.

"We wanted to go at first light when the baby was born... and yet..." she murmured, looking at Anna with a puzzled frown adorning her face. She turned to the baby as it shifted, her frown fading as the child continued to slumber. The alert redhead slid to sit her rear on the floor, pulling her knees up slightly as she continued to mull about.

The resident stepped in again, his footsteps soft and hardly noticeable. He eyed the scene again, frowning when he spotted the growing pool of blood that Anna seemed to produce from nowhere. "She's gonna have to stay put for another four weeks at best," he murmured, catching Natalie's attention as he spoke. He turned to the woman and assumed a hard face, "Is that her first baby?"

"She told us she was a virgin when… when we decided to get drunk," Natalie confirmed in a quiet voice.

"I see," the resident sighed with a nod of understanding. "I told the rest of the town you lot were seeking shelter, and that you had a baby—" he paused as Natalie went wide-eyed, and hastily added, "No, I didn't tell them about your… secret. Just said two men, two women, and a baby were staying a while."

Natalie relaxed, and sighed in relief. She tensed when the elder continued speaking, "But the mayor of this town would like to see you guys tomorrow and show you around the place."

"Is he going to…" the woman trailed off as the baby shifted in her arms again, coming awake with a burble. She turned to the child and sent it a weak smile, garnering a squeal—of delight or worry, Natalie couldn't be sure.

"No, he won't try anything if that's what you're wondering. As long as you guys stay here, the tyke's safe," the elderly man answered before yawning. "Well… I'm off to bed." With that, he left the room, stretching his arms as he went down the hall.

Natalie still stared at the infant as he left. "You're gonna be a handful…" she paused as it occurred to her that the baby still lacked a proper name. She wracked her brain for something fitting but simple, and went and took a peek at the baby's goods to see if Anna's claim held true.

The baby was intersex. Natalie's brow immediately furrowed, her mind working furiously to come up with something. A few moments passed when she stared into the baby's eyes and finally settled on a name and whispered to the baby, "That settles it: I'm naming you Malachite." The baby burbled and fidgeted, as if responding to its new name. "You like that, huh?" she cooed with a small smile, to which Malachite responded with an eager squeal.

~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~

Anna tossed and turned in bed as she woke up without opening her eyes, and the first thing she heard was the sound of the baby screaming. She cracked her eyelids open and sat up, finding the room hazy and somewhat distorted. The teen blinked a few times to get the fog out of her sight, and found Natalie walking up towards her with the wailing infant in tow. "Wants breakfast again?" she mumbled sleepily.

"Yeah, Malachite wants breakfast," Natalie chirped with a grin.

Anna blinked again. "Huh?"

"I named the baby Malachite while you and Matt and Lance were asleep," Natalie elaborated, handing the teen the baby. "Rascal seemed to like it."

Anna grunted as Natalie reached over and helped her undo her jacket again. Once her breasts were exposed, Malachite stopped wailing to commence feeding. The teen took the chance to look around the room, noticing an immediate absence of two men. "Where're Matt and Lance?"

"They're eating their breakfast. The owner of this house is making some more grub for me and you," Natalie answered, her grin widening.

The breastfeeding teen merely nodded again and turned away to avoid yawning into Natalie's face. Malachite stopped feeding and began wailing, though its mother responded as if on autopilot: she hefted the child to her shoulder and patted its back a few times, earning a burb seconds later. "Say, Natz, think you could make some milk for the munchkin?" she asked, turning to find that Natalie went wide-eyed.

"I… uh, dunno…" the redhead responded, fidgeting awkwardly. She took a moment to compose herself and murmured, "But now that I think about it… you're gonna need two hands for your bow, which Malachite's currently got on hold."

"Yeah, and you only need one hand for your magic," Anna stated as she began cradling the child, not caring that her breasts were still exposed in the slightest. She stared into Malachite's eyes, and the child stared back before turning away to squeal at Natalie. The teen also turned to the woman and frowned. "Matt had better be saving me some food, because I'm so hungry I could eat three mammoths in one sitting."

"Don't worry, the man who lives here is aware of his and your appetites by now," Natalie chirped, raising a hand to pat the baby on its head. Malachite grabbed her fingers before she could retract her appendage, and the woman merely giggled in response. "Say, do you… need a massage before breakfast, or after?" she asked, turning to the teen with a sly grin on her face.

Anna found herself slightly jumping, a faint blush dusting her cheeks. "Uh… um… I-uh…" she stuttered, unable to form even a half-assed response. She gulped before trying again, "Y-you mean… just my boobs, or… or a full-body massage?"

The teen could've sworn she saw a glimmer in Natalie's eyes, though stemming from what eluded her. "A full-body massage. Y'know, to help alleviate your stress some. Now that Malachite's here, you have to be as calm as you can manage, and a massage is a good way to fix some stress," the woman answered, her grin widening a bit.

Before she could speak further, the sound of a man clearing his throat caught her attention. Natalie whirled around, finding Lance in the doorframe leaning to one side, looking at her expectantly. "Oi, womenfolk, your breakfast is ready," he stated. The man leaned some more, looking past Natalie at the top of Anna's head. "Are you decent?" he asked.

"N-no…" Anna murmured, setting the child in her lap before closing up her jacket hastily. It only took a moment for her to cover her assets, and another few seconds to scoop Malachite back up to her chest before she stood up. She sauntered around Natalie with a slight limp, pausing as the baby looked at Lance and squealed at him.

"The munchkin sounds glad," the red-eyed man noted, walking up to Anna and gently picking the baby out of her arms to hold it himself. Before the mother had a chance to protest, he stated firmly, "You need two hands to eat with. I've already had my fill, and I'll hold the tyke while you fuel up."

Anna nodded again and continued to saunter out, stepping into the hall before stopping as Natalie dashed to catch up to her. The woman wrapped an arm around the teen and led her down the hall, opposite the stairs, where another door greeted them. An aroma wafted from the door as it creaked open, and inside stood a quaint kitchen with a table that could accommodate six adults at most. The elderly man set down two more plates just as the women entered, and Matt sat in a chair next to him.

"I see our forest girl's woken up," the blond remarked with a grin, earning a chuckle from Natalie and a roll of the eyes from Anna. The two strode over and took their seats, and as soon as she sat down, Anna began shoveling food into her mouth with such haste she almost choked before she could properly swallow. Natalie shared a look with Matt and grinned.

"She said she could eat three whole mammoths in one go," the redhead murmured as Anna emptied her plate, went for seconds, and promptly wolfed those down.

"Then again, she has a lot of milk to make," the elderly man piped up as he sat down opposite of Natalie. A smirk spread on his face as he spoke further, "It happens with every first-time mother, especially if they travel and happen to breastfeed."

"You sound like you've done this song and dance before, Tobias," Natalie noted, turning to the resident with a glint in her eyes. She picked up a piece of toast and bit into it when he spoke up.

"It's happened before in this little village," Tobias replied with a nod. "Mayor's made it pretty much custom to welcome new mothers and their babies, and whoever might be travelling with them."

"Mayor?" Anna asked after she finished inhaling a third helping, standing up and tottering over to the sink once her plate was finally emptied. She reached for a glass and scooped it up, holding it under the faucet and turning on the tap. As she filled the glass, Tobias chuckled and elaborated.

"Yeah, we have a mayor in this town. He's a really nice lad once you get to know him," the elder chirped as Anna turned off the tap and drank the glass of water in one gulp.

Lance entered the kitchen and sat down, Malachite squirming in his arms and burbling. "So, when do we meet this 'mayor?'" he asked, groaning as the infant began squealing again.

"Once Malachite gets a bath," Natalie answered, finally digging into her breakfast with earnest.

Anna turned to Tobias and let out an exasperated sigh. "Say, you guys think the mayor might have something we can bathe Malachite in?" she asked. The men looked at her, and the baby stopped wailing. Natalie still ate her food, but momentarily paused to shrug before continuing.

"He does," Tobias replied, turning to the teen with a grin. "In fact, if you asked, you could bathe the munchkin at his place."

"I guess that settles it then," Matt remarked as Natalie finished her food. He stood up abruptly, and so did the woman next to him. Lance followed suit, moving slowly to avoid startling the baby. Malachite burbled a bit, putting a thumb in its mouth while blinking. Tobias stood up as well, and the group filed out of the kitchen into the hall, then down the stairs and out of the house to find that some of the snow had melted. People emerged from the other houses, some that the lot immediately noticed had young children with them.

The quintet walked briskly into the town proper, and some of the locals gaped at them as they made their way through the small intersections and snow-covered roads with Anna bleeding freely all over the place. Murmurs spread quickly, and one concerned citizen rushed forward, almost slipping on a patch of cold water in the process.

Lance narrowed his eyes at the individual, seeing a woman in a maid's uniform carrying a red book under one arm, with brown hair and blue eyes. "Who are you?" he asked in a level tone.

The woman looked up at him, then gazed at the others and froze. She spluttered for a moment before composing herself and uttering, "Charlotte…" The woman turned tail and tried running, but Matt grabbed her by the collar of her uniform and pulled her back before she could get far.

"You know this lass?" Tobias asked, tilting his head when Matt turned to him and nodded.

"In fact, she worked at the tavern we got drunk at. Speaking of which, she owes us an explanation," Matt replied flatly. His remark caused Charlotte to shiver and gulp, and he turned to look at the hapless maid before adding, "Oh, by the way, do you work for the mayor?"

"Y-yes…" the brunette stammered, fervently nodding. "I… I heard that people arrived, and needed escorting to the mayor…"

"Didn't expect the people to be _us_ , I take it?" Anna piped up, garnering another nod from the maid.

"N-no," Charlotte stammered, frowning. Her gaze turned to Anna, before trailing to the distinct red substance that began puddling at her feet. Then she looked up again, spotting Malachite as it began to burble. "Did… you…"

Anna nodded once, and the motion caused Charlotte to stop speaking. "Got drunk, and promptly knocked up," she replied, wincing as the baby grabbed a lock of her hair and tugged sharply.

"By who… well, it's like getting a lottery ticket—we don't know which one of us is the dad," Lance piped up, a finger pointing at himself and then to Matt for emphasis.

"So, Charlotte, how'd you come to work for the mayor?" Natalie asked, garnering a shudder from the hapless maid.

"I'll… explain myself on the way to his abode," Charlotte murmured in reply, averting her gaze away from the quartet and the baby. She turned to Tobias, as if expecting him to help her, only for her eyes to widen when he shrugged and shook his head as if to say, "You're on your own."

And then Malachite began to wail again, only adding to her woes.


	4. Chapter 4

The group of six-plus-baby walked through town, garnering attention as they went. As the sun climbed high in the early afternoon sky they came across a building with a porch, a jutting roof that covered said porch, and a single door with a window leading inside. "I'll be at my house if you need me," Tobias said, and with that he turned tail and walked back to his house. 

"Might as well get this over with," Charlotte murmured, approaching the door and opening it before going inside.

The group shrugged in unison and followed after her, immediately finding that they stood in a small empty tavern, and the four travelers stared with mouths agape at a man in an apron.

"Behold," Charlotte grumbled, extending her free hand towards the man for emphasis, "the village mayor." Her hand dropped, and she stepped to stand in front of and a little to the side of Anna as she waited for the fireworks to go off.

A few seconds of very awkward silence passed, and the two parties stared at one another with all sets of eyes, save those of Charlotte, slowly widening. The fireworks took no longer than that to start exploding. " _You're_ the village mayor?!" Lance shrieked, his face instantly paling.

" _You're_ the new arrivals with the most recent baby?!" the man in the apron shouted back, a similar expression on his face. His eyes lingered on the group, taking in their stance and the fact that Anna was bleeding, before he then turned them on Charlotte, who shrank back as his face started turning a shade of purple. "Let me guess: she gave birth?" he queried, lifting a solitary finger with which to gesture to Anna.

Charlotte glumly nodded, a dour frown on her face.

"And _why?_ '" the apron-clad man snapped impatiently, his eyes narrowing to thin slits. Charlotte took a step back, but that only made her back brush up against Anna, who then stumbled aside before tripping backwards and landing in Natalie's arms. _"Well!?"_ the apron-clad man yelled, still expecting an answer that he had yet to receive.

Finally, Matt spoke up, immediately getting glared at in the process, "Listen, I don't know _what_ the hell your booze did to us, but we ended up _taking advantage of her._ Charlotte didn't give her booze, _okay!?_ "

That did little to make the man stop scowling. If anything, said scowl deepened considerably. "Then what explains four mugs? There _were_ four; I checked the morning after," he hissed.

"I had seconds," Matt replied, his eyes narrowing. 

Anna decided to pipe up, "Matt's right! He had seconds!"

Silence hung in the air, and for a few sparse seconds all froze. Then the gaze of the apron-clad man fell on Anna, and his scowl softened a little. "Then answer me this," he began in a low tone, "if they took advantage of you, then why are you still with them? Stockholm syndrome, perhaps?"

He was expecting a flinch or something along the lines of an indignant _"none of your beeswax,"_ but instead Anna merely rose to her feet with Natalie's help. She shared a glance with her companion before turning back to the apron-man. "I forgave them, simple as that," Anna answered tersely. "Just _stop,_ okay?"

The apron-clad man opened his mouth to argue, and then swiftly closed it as Malachite began raising a fuss again. Any thoughts about asking more questions or raising hell went right out the window then and there. He slumped a little, but not before giving Charlotte one last _"we'll speak later"_ glare. "Help them bathe the baby," he muttered, just loud enough to be heard.

Charlotte nodded and turned to Lance, assuming a small frown. When he turned to her and gave a nod, she immediately jammed her book into her apron and bolted for the stairs, weaving around several tables and chairs with such speed and grace it gave the group the impression that she was something else altogether. With slow steps, and the eyes of the apron-man dogging their every move, the group followed after Charlotte with a wailing Malachite in tow.

They found themselves in an expansive, familiar hallway lined with many doors on either side, all with signs hanging on their fronts. But nearly every single sign read 'closed,' which made Lance raise his brow as he gently bounced Malachite in his arms. That, thankfully, managed to calm the baby down, and after some seconds it took to burbling.

"Closed?" Anna piped up again, looking at a 'closed' sign with a wary gaze. "These were all occupied last time we were here…"

Lance wrinkled his nose and made for the end of the hall, where he spotted a lone open door on the left side that lacked a sign. "Something fishy is going on here," he murmured lowly, and he made for the door with a brisk pace. "The fact that Charlotte bolted first chance she got is quite suspicious by itself…"

"I'm getting a sense of déjà vu, and not in a good way," Natalie groaned, trying to suppress creeping chills that ran up her spine as she passed by numerous 'closed' signs.

It took them a minute to get to the opened door, and they went inside the room to find Charlotte sitting at a table with five chairs waiting for them. She gestured to the bed, which had withered vines strewn all on and around it. "I'm still wondering who turned that into a greenhouse," she snarked as the party moved to sit at the table.

Anna shifted uneasily the moment she sat down. "So, erm… the booze made us… uh…" she began, only to stop as Charlotte raised a hand and waved it in her direction.

Then those piercingly blue eyes, once holding panic, fell on her. They then filled with equal parts resignation, anger, and outright dread. "Sense arcane magical energies you couldn't pinpoint?" she finished slowly, enunciating each word clearly and concisely.

Matt's eyes narrowed a little more. "Did you take a drink of the stuff yourself?" he asked.

Charlotte turned to him and slowly nodded, her face hardening. "Long story short, that's how I ended up working here a few years back," she replied. "To put it in perspective for you four, the moment I took my first sip was the same moment that I knew something was _off._ " She turned to the opened door, half-expecting the supposed mayor to be outside leering at her. Her face morphed into a scowl when she saw he wasn't there.

Anna turned to the door as Charlotte lifted a hand in its direction and started murmuring in a strange tongue she couldn't hope to make sense of. A 'closed' sign appeared on the front of the door, almost materializing out of thin air, and it tacked itself before the door slammed closed and locked. Natalie turned to Charlotte, her gaze oddly level. "You're also a mage?" she guessed as those blue eyes returned back to the table.

Again, Charlotte nodded. "But that's neither here nor there. We're getting sidetracked." Her gaze fell on the baby. "Asleep?" she queried.

Lance looked at Malachite and found a pair of green-blue eyes staring at him. "Wide awake and expecting me to do something," he answered. That managed to garner a burble.

"Eh, better than screaming," Charlotte sighed.

"What explains the 'closed' signs on the doors? Is this floor off-limits or something?" Natalie piped up, her query causing Lance to look back at Charlotte again.

For but a few seconds, Charlotte's eyes closed. When they opened again, the group could've sworn they turned a very slight tinge of red right around her pupils. "Those rooms are out of order. The mayor… he's doing something shady," she began in a low voice.

"Well, what is it?" Matt asked, frowning as Charlotte's scowl deepened.

"He's trying to boost the population of this village. The _why_ eludes me, but I happen to have the _how_ down to scratch. The booze acts as a sort of catalyst; triggering magical energies of those who ingests it. Aside from causing most of the standard effects, it can and sometimes does result in a sort of… surge," Charlotte began, her gaze averting very briefly to the vines littering the bed.

Anna's eyes widened and she shifted in her seat. Immediately the scrutinizing gaze of blue landed on her like a brick. "I take it that's all you?" Charlotte asked, garnering a weak nod as her answer.

"We woke up in leaves," Natalie added as an aside. "But how does that boost the population around these parts?"

Charlotte gestured to Malachite. "That's where the little one comes in," she said darkly. "I've noticed another effect of the enchanted alcohol: increased fertility and virility. Normally, alcohol grants the all-too-familiar phenomenon known as _whiskey dick_ when ingested in large-enough quantities. But the hexed booze only takes a hit or two before kicking in…"

Lance, Matt, and Natalie turned to Malachite and shuddered as Charlotte went on, "And if the time is just right and the _bed_ is sullied come morning, I think you know what happens next. I was hoping, _hoping_ you four wouldn't come back. But lo and behold, you have—with something extra, and I realized it wouldn't have mattered _what_ I'd done the moment I brought your drink order." Her gaze fell on Anna. "You'd have been taken advantage of either way."

Matt turned to Charlotte and sighed. "Did any other patrons come back complaining about the booze?" he asked.

Charlotte's face darkened some more, and some bits of her hair went askew of their own accord. "Those that _did_ never got the chance. They _all_ came back either having borne or sired a child and had to divert their attention elsewhere," she replied. "And he's the _mayor,_ I must stress. Seven months ago he passed a law stating something along the lines of 'you drink and get child, your fault.' Effectively speaking, _nobody_ until today has griped about it."

"And the moment you four showed up and did just that, he turned a very unhealthy color. I've a feeling you may as well have put him on the edge," Charlotte sighed, shaking her head glumly. "But then again, I suppose it takes a special kind of person to do that. Like, I dunno, a band of folks who ran around saving the world a few times over."

Malachite burbled again and lifted its hands into the air, waving them to get Lance's attention. Lance sighed and turned to Charlotte again, slowly bouncing the baby in his arms once more. "I take it you've heard about what we did?" he asked.

That garnered another nod from Charlotte. "At this point, who the hell _hasn't?_ " she asked rhetorically, completing her remark with a mock-shrug and a roll of her eyes.

"The mayor said something about Stockholm syndrome, and you said those who came back turned their attention elsewhere…" Anna murmured, before her pupils shrank when she realized the sheer weight of what she'd just said.

Charlotte turned to her and sighed. "No, Stockholm is what he assumes to have happened in most cases. You're the only mother I know of that didn't come back either _single and bitter,_ or _married and wanting to bash your hubby's face in the wall,_ " she stated. "I wouldn't recommend asking around."

Natalie leaned forward. "A bunch of Krasue dropped by last night, wanting grub. Speaking of, any increase of Krasue attacks lately?" she asked.

Charlotte nodded again, her eyes reddening a smidgen more. "Ever since the enchanted cocktails started circulating in these parts, yes. But the attacks were never successful as of yet. I'm still trying to find the…" She stopped and slowly turned to Malachite, and at once her eyes widened as comprehension dawned. "That's it," she murmured, flashes of dread sparking in her eyes.

"What's it?" Matt asked in a low voice, also turning to Malachite with a brow raised.

"The correlation. The mayor… is trying to provide food for the Krasue…" Charlotte answered, and as soon as she spoke a palpable silence descended upon the room. The sheer weight of her utterance hung heavily in the air, before she abruptly stood up and thrust her hands on the table. _"We need to leave,"_ she hissed, eyes narrowing once more.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! That's not only crazy-sounding, but if your hunch is true, then _when and how_ do we get out, woman?" Lance snapped, his eyes narrowing in a cold glare that was directed at Charlotte. The two stared for a few seconds before, reluctantly, she sat down again. "That's far-fetched, and you hardly have any proof of the claim. Also, we've been here for less than a day—again, not enough time to accrue that proof."

"It almost sounds like she pulled it out her ass," Anna snarked, garnering a groan from Charlotte and a roll of the eyes from Matt.

"How about this: you guys stay for four weeks and we'll scratch each others' backs? I'll help you care for the baby, and one of you helps me accrue evidence that can back up my admittedly insane claim?" Charlotte began, casting her gaze about to the four people assembled in the room with her. At four hesitant nods and a burble, she turned to Lance. "Anything I should know about the baby before we start our little… _re-acquaintance project?_ "

Lance froze. Natalie stiffened. Anna shifted uneasily again. Matt merely stared at Charlotte like she'd gone off her rocker. None of them were remotely sure how to even _begin_ explaining Malachite's particular anomaly to her. The malady wasn't something they could attempt to half-ass if they tried.

There was only one way to go about it, but it took a few minutes before it felt as if time started flowing again. Lance handed Malachite to Charlotte with a mutter of, "See for yourself, but don't say a word about it."

"Are you sure…?" Anna mumbled worriedly, averting her gaze to Natalie for the barest of instants.

"I'm sure," Lance answered, watching Charlotte intently as she started to unravel the blanket slowly. They waited for the signs of impending fireworks…

Charlotte paled as she saw what Malachite's deal was. "Th-this is… h-holy..." Her brain struggled to process the duality that shouldn't have been possible, but was. Hastily, she covered the baby back up and handed it to Lance. "This is… _enlightening,_ shall we say," she began awkwardly.

"Haven't seen a hermaphrodite before?" Lance asked, and he began rocking and bouncing Malachite as Charlotte nodded.

"As they say, 'there's a first time for everything,'" Charlotte murmured. "All I've heard about hermaphrodites is that… well, they only existed in a sort of mythical sense; fairytales, if you will." She leaned back in her seat and took a few seconds to gather herself and kickstart her mental gears again. "But I've noticed something else about the baby." That managed to raise the collective brows of her assorted peanut gallery.

Natalie spoke up, "Well, what is it?"

Charlotte turned to Natalie and elaborated, "The child… exudes a _lot_ of magical energy. If you put… it, or her, or him, or whatever you guys use, in the same room with a being of pure magic… like, say, an ancient wyrm or a lich for instance. The lich or wyrm would try to eat the child to absorb its magical energy."

Natalie's shoulders sagged and she leaned forward to let her face connect with the table. "So we're in hot shit, great," she grumbled.

"Are Krasue… beings of pure magic?" Matt queried, turning to Malachite with a worried gleam in his eyes.

"Not exactly… but it would be as if it were the wyrm or lich, once that Krasue managed to eat the child. And all it would take is a single Krasue to do the job," Charlotte answered, shaking her head solemnly. "Only _then_ would the Krasue become a being of pure magic, so to speak."

Malachite began squirming in Lance's arms, squealing as if it understood the implications of Charlotte's utterance. Lance kept bouncing it to calm it down, but the effort was futile, and soon the baby started crying. "Hey, hey… the monsters won't get you," he murmured, but still the child screamed.

Charlotte slowly looked to the door, and over the child's squalling she could make out the sound of footsteps. "I think that's the mayor," she grumbled. She stood up again and walked over to it, reaching it just in time for a series of knocks to hit the door from the other side. She gave a quick incantation which unlocked the door, and opened it with her hand to find the apron-man outside, scowling at her. "What is it, a new provision?"

The supposed mayor stepped forward and lifted a hand before snagging Charlotte by her hair. "Oh no," he began slowly, forcing her to lean in so they were eye to eye. "You're going—with them," he said, using his other hand to both point to the group and send them a rude gesture in the process.

"W-what do you mean?" Charlotte queried, frowning. She got her answer as the mayor lifted a foot and kicked her in the stomach, letting go at the exact moment of impact to send her careening to the vine-covered bed.

"You're _fired,_ lass. I don't know what got into that pretty little head of yours, but I am most certainly _NOT_ giving those blasted Krasue free grub! Last thing I need is a bunch of vagrants, and an employee spreading rumors! _Get the fuck out, all of you!_ " he yelled, and with that he turned, slammed the door behind him, and stormed off.

As soon as he left Anna stood up and rushed to Charlotte's side, followed very shortly by the others. "Are you okay?" Anna asked as Charlotte got up in a hunched stance, her hand resting on her stomach.

"I'll live," Charlotte moaned in reply, and she turned to the door to give it an oddly triumphant smirk. "Let's hit the road before I get another kick in the gut, though. Besides, I've been itching to get out of here for a while now."

"But what about—" Matt began, only to stop as Charlotte waved a hand again.

"We'll figure something out; don't worry about it now," Charlotte replied, grimacing as Natalie moved over and wrapped an arm around her waist. They made for the door and froze before opening it, as a masculine-sounding scream pierced the air, followed by the sound of glass breaking. "Oh, joy, he's probably throwing a tantrum now."

Malachite started kicking frantically, though its crying had at this point been reduced to sniffling. Matt shared a look with Lance before he approached the door and opened it slowly, just wide enough for he and the others to file out. The sound of wood breaking echoed from down the hall, followed by another scream. "You think he'll throw things at us?" he asked, glancing at his present company again.

Charlotte nodded. "Wouldn't be the first time I've seen him do it, either," she snorted derisively. "Let's _go,_ before he decides to come upstairs again." With that, they stepped out into the hall as the sound of things breaking echoed from down the hall again, still accompanied by the screams of a capitulating lad.


End file.
